Caprica Commentary--Spoilers for "Rebirth"

Caprica isn't as surprising as I'd hoped it would be, but "Rebirth" provided a few intriguing character twists. Four reasons why I'll be back--

1. Amanda Graystone

I don't identify with her or particularly like her at this stage of the story, but I adore the way she can twist the plot. Who knew the grieving mom could "out" her daughter at a memorial for bombing victims? And what a way to finally grab Daniel's attention!


2. More minutiae--links among the two BSGs and Caprica

Anybody else notice that Daniel plays the original Battlestar Galactica theme on the piano? In his lab at his remote lair (how very Dr. Frankenstein), Daniel welcomes Zoe/Cylon home with a few bars of the original series' opening. That theme also survived from the 1970s to the 2000s in a few episodes illustrating Galactica's history. Nice tie-in, guys.

3. Shifting perspectives of Zoe/Cylon

Similar to the way the audience saw Baltar's "imaginary friend," Head Six, Zoe appears as her teenaged self when we see her, yet everyone else sees her as a Cylon. That visual shift provides some of the best moments in "Rebirth," such as when Zoe holds out a hand to best friend Lacy and the two embrace. Seeing the BFFs hug is normal, whereas Lacy clinging to a tall, gleaming robot is a bit disturbing. So is watching a drill approach "human" Zoe's face when a lab tech plans to work on the Cylon body. The visual shift helps us to mentally shift from foe to friend and makes me want to protect Zoe, which brings me to ...

4. Sympathetic Cylons

Since 1978, Battlestar Galactica slowly has been changing fans' view of Cylons, first portrayed as pure monster out to purge the galaxy of humans. The recent BSG helped us view our prejudices toward Cylons and gradually accept at least some of them as "human" characters we could understand. After only the pilot movie and one Caprica episode, I'm already sympathetic toward Zoe/Cylon. Should the audience become sympathetic with characters who, in less than a century of the BSG/Caprica timeline, destroy humanity? Should we root for the Cylons? Or should we feel that humanity has/had it coming?

So far that's Caprica's only controversial aspect and the most interesting reason to follow the saga again next week.